Between science and art : The speech melodies of Leoš Janáček

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14210%2F21%3A00122338" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14210/21:00122338 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Between science and art : The speech melodies of Leoš Janáček

Original language description

When discussing Leoš Janáček – whether in the field of musicology or among the general public – the topic of speech melodies often arises. What provokes interest is not only the composer’s peculiar activity of listening to human speech and recording its intonation in standard musical notation but also the musical features of such melodies. However, the view of speech melodies has changed over time, and even today, there is no general agreement on how to interpret them. The first generation of Janáček scholars, encouraged by the composer himself, considered these notated extracts to be scientific documents of real sounds which could facilitate the research of spoken language. This view was later criticised by younger musicologists, who emphasized the high level of stylization and subjective qualities of speech melodies, such as the author’s favourite melodic patterns. A third, alternative view has been provided by the writer Milan Kundera. In his essay Můj Janáček, he describes Janáček’s activity as a ritual of everydayness, through which the composer searches for the „vanished present“ and the „melodic truth“. This paper provides an overview of Janáček’s concept of speech melodies against the background of all three abovementioned approaches. Discussing different categories of speech melodies – namely, normal, excited, and lyrical ones – it demonstrates Janáček’s scientific ambitions and striving for precision as well as his artistic creativity and a tendency to stylise. Also, especially in light of Kundera’s concept, speech melodies reveal themselves as tools to capture the elusive present. The paper does not attempt to illuminate any new details of Janáček’s theory but rather to outline it as a whole to a non-musicological audience.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

D - Article in proceedings

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60403 - Performing arts studies (Musicology, Theater science, Dramaturgy)

Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Article name in the collection

HSCR 2021 : Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on the History of Speech Communication Research

ISBN

9783959084345

ISSN

0940-6832

e-ISSN

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Number of pages

9

Pages from-to

25-33

Publisher name

TUDpress

Place of publication

Neuveden

Event location

Prague

Event date

Aug 27, 2021

Type of event by nationality

EUR - Evropská akce

UT code for WoS article

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